Mary's Song Laley Style
by jadedcutie494
Summary: Oneshot Laley set to Mary's Song


Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or Mary's Song, I just happen to like them and utilise them for this story

A/N: Ok, I know I shouldn't be doing oneshots, but this came to me and I didn't want to forget it so here it is. Just a fluffy oneshot about Laley set to Mary's Song by Taylor Swift. I hope you like it, and I really hope you think the ending's good. Let me know your thoughts.

**Mary's Song Laley Style**

_She said, "I was seven and you were nine_

_I looked at you like the stars that shine_

_In the sky, the pretty lights_

They'd been friends for forever, or so it seemed, since the fateful day when four year old Lucas Scott had accidentally thrown his new, child sized, plastic basketball over the fence in the front yard of the Roe-Scott household, straight into the front yard of the James household, bouncing off the head of little two year old Haley James. He'd rushed around the fence, intent on finding his ball and getting back into his own yard before his mother noticed. Instead, he came face to face with a tiny, and seemingly annoyed, girl, who pointed out her finger and said 'naughty!' as loud as she could. He froze in shock, and neither of them moved until Lucas' mother came running around the fence and Haley's mother came around the side of the house.

'Lucas Scott! What have I told you about leaving the yard?'

'Haley James! How did you get out here! Karen? Is that Lucas?'

'Lydia, hi. Sorry, I came out and Lucas was gone, I found him here. Which brings me back to you, young man; what are you doing over here? How many times do I have to tell you, you don't leave the yard unless you ask me first, or Keith.' She scolded, and the young blonde haired boy bowed his head.

'I'm sorry mama, but I lost my ball and I was gonna be quick but then she said I was naughty and I...'

'Haley James, why would you call him naughty? That's not very nice.'

'He hit my head with the ball.' The two year old said, pointing once again at Lucas, then beside her to the ball in question.

'Did he now? Lucas, did you hit Haley with your ball?'

'I don't know, I didn't see. It went over the fence by accident; I missed the basket,' he added, frowning. 'And when I came here, she just pointed and said _naughty_.'

'I'm sorry Karen, she heard me tell Taylor she was naughty the other day and since then, well, everything's naughty.' Lydia explained, and Karen smiled.

'That's alright. Now Lucas, I know it was an accident, but accident or not you should apologise to Haley.' Karen told her son, and saw him roll his eyes but turn to the young girl.

'I'm sorry my ball hit your head Haley.' He told her, and she smiled. She didn't really understand all the words, but she knew 'sorry', 'ball', 'hit', 'head' and her name.

'Play ball with me?' she asked sweetly and Lucas looked up at his mum, who nodded before turning to Lydia.

'Do you mind if Haley comes over to our yard to play?'

'Not at all. Maybe playing with Lucas will keep her occupied so she stops wandering off and scaring about ten years off me. And give me some time to figure out why Charlie is locked in his room muttering about Taylor and a spider.' Karen laughed and ushered the two small children over to her yard.

From that day on they'd been inseparable, and it became commonplace to find Haley over at Lucas' house, watching TV, reading, picture books and eventually novels, or even watching him practice basketball.

Now, she was seven years old, and he was nine, and she sat on the lawn, one of Lucas' books in her lap, forgotten now as she watched him practice with his new leather basketball, pride evident in her eyes. She'd never quite grasped the game no matter how hard he tried to teach her, so she'd eventually given up and taken to simply watching.

She enjoyed watching him play, he always brought so much energy to it. She remembered his first game with the junior league, he was so excited, he scored the most points of the game and he had the biggest smile on his face at the end. She loved seeing him happy.

_And our daddies used to joke about the two of us_

_Growing up and fallin' in love and our mamas smiled_

_And rolled their eyes and said 'oh my my my'_

Their families were having a picnic, and most of Haley's older siblings had dispersed through the park, leaving the two couples sitting under the shade of a large oak watching the two young children who had stayed nearby. Lucas was twelve now, Haley ten, and they, unlike the rest of Haley's siblings or the other children scattered around, were reading. Every now and then, one would look up and point out something to the other, or read a passage they particularly liked out loud to the other. Jimmy and Keith watched them then looked at each other.

'Twenty bucks says those two are married by the time they're finished with school.' Jimmy said, nodding in the direction of their kids.

'Alright, and twenty bucks says they realise they're in love by the time Lucas hits 18.' Keith replied, holding his hand out, which Jimmy took and so they shook on it as Karen and Lydia simply looked at them and shook their heads, rolling their eyes at each other.

'You two are ridiculous, you do know that right?' Lydia said, reaching over to hit her husband's leg before turning back around to gave at her daughter and Lucas, then glancing over to share a knowing look with Karen.

_Take me back to the house in the backyard tree_

_Said you'd beat me up you were bigger than me_

_You never did, you never did_

'Lucas, are you up there?' Haley called up the tree to her friend. She'd learnt not to go up uninvited; he'd yelled at her the last time, and she hadn't made the same mistake twice.

'Go away Haley, I'm busy with my friends.' He was thirteen now, and apparently hanging out with a girl, even one you'd been friends with for almost ten years, was just uncool.

'But Lucas! Your mum sent me out to remind you we have out weekly dinner tonight; it's at our house this week. And she told me to tell you that you better not be late again, and to make sure you clean up before hand this time and that you know what'll happen if you don't.' Haley recited, hoping to get him to at least poke his head out the window to look at her while they talked.

'And why couldn't she come tell me? Did you volunteer? Don't worry Haley, I won't be late. Now get out of here before I have to come down there and beat you up to make you leave.' Her eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger as she made her way to the ladder that led to the tree house. Lucas looked equally shocked when she stuck her head up into the open window.

'Don't you threaten me Lucas Eugene Scott! First of all, you aren't allowed to hit girls, and second, you'd have to catch me first, and third, you'd never hit me.' She told him, and grinned when she saw a hint of a smile on his lips as she started her descent back down the ladder. She understood the rules, and knew that he'd get over it soon enough, cause that's just who he was.

_Take me back when our world was one block wide_

_I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried_

_Just two kids, you and I..._

_Oh my my my my_

She was thirteen now, and it was her birthday party. There weren't a lot of people there; family, friends of her parents and their kids she got on with the few times a year they saw them, and then some kids from school. And as always, there was Lucas. Fifteen now, and well past the stage of being too cool to have a little girl for a friend.

She found herself wishing her party would end so she could curl up on her bed next to Lucas to watch E.T. like they had every year on her birthday since she was seven, and they had seen it for the first time. It was one of their many, silly traditions, like for his birthday they would end the day in his room reading his favourite book aloud to each other. They never managed to finish it, although each year they lasted a little longer before they finally gave in to exhaustion.

'Hey, what are you doing out here all alone, birthday girl?' She smiled at his voice, but didn't turn to look at him, instead choosing to remain staring out her window.

'Well, it's my birthday so can't I do what I want?' She felt him shrug beside her before he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close in a sideways hug.

'Happy birthday Hales. Hopefully all those people will have cleared out of here soon and we can finally watch E.T.' he said, and she laughed.

'Yeah, hopefully. God, if this is my thirteenth, can you imagine what my mum will do for my sixteenth?' Haley shuddered, and Lucas laughed.

'Don't worry. I promise, come your sixteenth birthday, I will be standing by your side the whole night, and if it's anything like this one, well, there's always the tree house, right?' He grinned down at her, and she laughed, wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug before releasing him and sighing.

'So what's going on down there? Am I missing much?'

'Not really. Skills and Mouth and the others all started a game of truth and dare but it was kinda lame.'

'Oh really? What would you pick, if you were playing?'

'Dare, definitely. But I'd want a really good dare; otherwise it's not worth it.'

'Hmm, dare, you say? I think I can come up with a good dare for you.'

'Really, and what would that be?' She turned to him and smiled.

'I dare you to kiss me.' She said, and tried to hide the grin when his eyes widened.

'What?' He asked, his voice cracking.

'You heard me, I dare you to kiss me.' She watched as he tried to figure out if she was being serious, then finally, saw determination in his eyes, and he nodded.

'Alright then.' He stiffened slightly, squaring his shoulders almost looking like he was preparing for battle. Then he leant forward and his eyes flickered close, and she panicked, and took off running. She heard him when he realised she was no longer there, heard him call out her name, but she didn't stop until she'd escaped out the back door, over the fence into his yard and up into the tree house.

_Well, I was sixteen when suddenly_

_I wasn't that little girl you used to see_

_But your eyes still shined like pretty lights_

It was her sixteenth birthday now, and Lydia and Karen had banded together to go all out to celebrate the occasion. They had been planning for weeks; guest lists, invitations, decorations, food, everything had been thought of, while Haley had moaned, whined and escaped as often as possible. Lucas had laughed and mocked, and escaped with her whenever he could because apparently it was his job, as her best friend, to help whenever their mothers said.

Now, the night was finally here, and all the guests had arrived and were milling around downstairs in the James' house. Lucas was talking idly to Skills and Mouth, his eyes flicking over to the stairs every now and then to see if Haley had come down yet. He'd only managed to say hi to her this morning before he had been ordered into setup duty and Haley had been whisked away upstairs by Lydia to get ready. He couldn't help but wonder how long it possibly took to get ready, especially considering it was Haley. Suddenly, Lydia appeared at the top of the staircase, and got everyone's attention.

'Alright everyone, thank you for coming tonight. Now, I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting, but as most of you know Haley's never been one for being in the spotlight, or getting all dressed up and looking girly, so it took longer than normal to get her ready.' They all laughed, and while he laughed Lucas' eyes kept flicking to the top of the stairs, waiting for Haley to emerge. 'Anyway, without further ado, and now that she's _finally_ ready, Miss Haley James!' Her family cheered, and Skills, Fergie, Junk and Mouth all wolf-whistled, while Lucas continued to watch. He smirked when she didn't appear, and watched Lydia sigh. 'Haley James, get out here now, don't make me come in there.'

She stepped into view a few seconds later, and Lucas' breath hitched as he finally saw her. Her hair was curled, loosely, and a few were pinned at the top, pulled back from either side of her face, and held back with a silver clip in the shape of a small flower. Her dress was white, with silver stitching on the bodice, more so along the top. It was strapless, and Lucas smiled when he noticed her discreetly pulling at the top, most likely scared about it falling down. The skirt didn't hang directly down, but was too puffy, and fell to just above her knees. She wore a heart pendant on a long silver chain, and present that morning from her sisters, and a thin silver chain bracelet with a few small charms on it was on her wrist. Lucas grinned. The bracelet had been a present from him on her thirteenth present along with the first charm, a small silver book for their mutual love of the written word. The next year he'd given her a basketball for the first time they'd met, and the year after a house, to symbolise their tree house. This year's charm sat, all wrapped up, in the tree house, waiting for later.

He finally caught her eye as she slowly made her way down the stairs, and he could tell she was nervous and so he pulled a face, knowing since everyone was watching her, she would be the only one to see, and was rewarded when she relaxed and smiled. He waited as she moved through the crowd of people, thanking everyone for coming, talking to people she hadn't seen in a while, and finally she reached him.

'Hey you, you look good.' He told her as she came up to him, and she blushed, ducking her head, and he laughed softly. 'Never liked being complimented, did you Hales?'

'Oh shut up dude! You're not the one who was locked up in my bedroom for nearly six hours while my mother and Taylor played Barbie on me. Have you seen the makeup? And the dress? Look at it!' She did a spin, and he noticed the strings on the back.

'Seriously, it laces up? Where'd the dress come from, the 1800s?' He questioned, and she shrugged.

'Beats me, I saw it when they had me try it on two weeks ago, and then again this afternoon when they pulled it out and told me to get in. I didn't know which dress I was wearing until that moment.'

'Now how is that possible? Even I'm allowed to dress myself for my parties.' He said, earning him a smack on the head.

'Hey, you don't have a mother called Lydia or a sister called Taylor, and you're not a girl. You count yourself lucky you don't, too, you've never been forced into a dress like this.'

'Well, no I'm not a girl, and I think I'd look kinda ridiculous in that dress. I definitely wouldn't look as good as you do in it.' He whispered the last bit, and she blushed. 'You do look really, really good Hales, a little not like you, but I like it.'

'What do you mean, not like me?'

'Nothing bad, I swear!' He defended himself, hands up in front of himself in surrender. 'It's just that normally your tastes run to more simple things, I mean like I said, you look _really_ good, but I think you look good in what you normally wear too.' She blushed again, and even he looked a little embarrassed by his words.

'Really? You think I look good normally?'

'Well, yeah, I mean, you can tell you don't try really hard, you just are who you are, and you look great, and you don't follow the trends. You wear what you want, and you look great. Well, except when you wear that poncho, cause I don't think anyone could pull that ugly thing off.' He smiled when she looked outraged, and just shrugged. 'It's true, that is one ugly poncho, don't even try and defend it.' She conceded, and then dragged him along as she continued to talk to her guests.

Later that night, Lucas pulled her out the back doors of her house, and across the backyard. The James house was still full of people, but she didn't protest, glad to be out of there. He stopped at the fence, looked back at her, then changed direction, sneaking them past the side of her house, and around the front fence into his yard. They finally came to a stop at the bottom of the tree that had their tree house, and he looked back at her again, then up the tree.

'Hmm, I didn't figure you being in a dress like that when I planned this. It could pose a bit of a problem.' He told her matter of factly, and she raised an eyebrow in response.

'You think? You know what I think? I think there's no way I'm going up that tree while I'm in this dress.' She saw his eyes sparkle, a look she recognised, and she backed up slightly.

'No, whatever you're planning Lucas Scott, just forget about it.'

'You mean you won't take the dress off to climb the tree?' He asked innocently, laughing at her look of shock. 'Kidding, I was going to suggest, since the tree house is only a few metres up that you could just jump up on my back. It shouldn't be too hard, especially if you're still as light as I remember. Although that dress probably added a fair bit of weight by the look of it.'

'Try wearing it,' she told him, then looked from him, to the tree house and back. 'You won't drop me?' She asked sceptically.

'I promise,' he told her, and she smiled and agreed. It took a minute to situate her, with the skirt of the dress temporarily posing a problem, but soon he'd managed to climb up to the tree house and was letting her down onto a rug that sat in the middle of the floor.

'So, Mr Scott, what exactly are we doing up here?' She asked when they were both sitting.

'Well, first I'm going to give you your present and then we're going to hang out until one of our mums realise we're missing and come looking for us, and then we're going to get ourselves into your backyard and pretend like we were just out there getting air the whole time, so we avoid another lecture about skipping parties that are for us.' He informed her, both grinning at the memory of the lecture Karen and Lydia had given them after they'd fled Lucas' sixteenth birthday party two years earlier.

'You've got it all figured out, don't you?'

'Yep. I figure we've got about fifteen minutes, tops, before we hear one of them calling in your backyard.

'Fifteen minutes? Then I guess you'd better give me that present real quick, huh?'

'You mean this present?' He asked, pulling a box from behind his back.

'Yay! Hmm, this is bigger than normal. It's not a charm?'

'Well, I couldn't forgo our tradition, but I also figured since it was a special birthday it deserved a little something extra.' He told her, handing over the present. She smiled at him, then tore of the paper like an excited three year old at Christmas.

She realised there were in fact two boxes side by side, and he pointed at the left one, and when she opened it found a small charm, that she thought at first to a be an eight.

'It's infinity. I figured it was less cheesy than a 'friends forever' charm. Plus, infinity's longer than forever, right?' She nodded, and held out her wrist and the charm for him to attach it. After having done the same with the previous three charms, he'd learnt how to attach them easily and swiftly, and soon the infinity symbol was hanging next to the small house. Lucas pointed to the next box, and she opened it to reveal a silver ring. She stared at it, then up at Lucas.

'You remembered?' She asked, and he nodded.

'How could I forget? You said it was the only thing you wanted for your sixteenth. Now, it might've been more than four years ago, but I remembered. You thought it was the sweetest gift ever, and all you wanted was someone to give one to you.'

'I can't believe you bought me a claddaugh ring. Just like Buffy and Angel.'

'You know, I could never understand how someone like you got so caught up in that show, the drama of it.'

'Well, everyone's got to have something, right? Besides, it was better than getting caught up in the drama of the James family.'

'True.'

'Plus, I was like eleven and Angel was like, the perfect guy back then.'

'Well yeah, except for the whole turning evil and trying to send the world to hell thing.'

'Besides that, of course.'

'There is one more thing, to go with the present, sort of.'

'Something else? What is it?'

'Well, you remember Angel telling Buffy that if you wear the ring with the heart pointing in, you belong to someone?'

'Yeah, guess I'll be wearing it the other way, huh?'

'Well, I was wondering if you'd like to be able to wear it the other way?'

'Huh?' She looked up from the ring, which she'd been twirling between two fingers, and was startled by the way he was looking at her. 'What did you say?'

'I asked if you'd like to wear that ring with the heart facing in.'

'Meaning...'

'Meaning, would you like to belong to me?'

'Belong to you?' She asked, raising an eyebrow at the phrase.

'You know what I mean, Hales. Not in the cave man 'you're my property' way, but...' he trailed off, apparently lost for words, which was fairly unusual for him, and they sat in silence for a moment until he surprised them both by leaning over and kissing her. It was a short kiss, and full of hesitation on his part, and he pulled back only seconds after it started, looking embarrassed. 'I'm sorry Hales, I shouldn't have...'

It was her turn to surprise them both when she leaned over and kissed him, this kiss being neither short nor hesitant. After a minute, Lucas pulled back, smiling as he looked down at her.

'So, can I take that as a yes?' In response, she held up her right hand, slipping the ring onto her middle finger, heart facing in.

'Yeah, I think you can.'

_And our daddies used to joke about the two of us_

_They never believed we'd really fall in love_

_And our mammas smiled and rolled their eyes_

_And said 'oh my my my'_

A few weeks later, they were all at the Roe-Scott household, celebrating Lucas eighteenth. Lucas and Haley had decided not to tell anyone yet, or rather Haley had asked that they keep it between them for the time being, and he, being Lucas and not being able to say no to her, had agreed.

Now they stood in his room, stealing a few kisses before Karen came knocking to get them. Lucas groaned when she pulled away, smirking at the sound of disappointment he made.

'Come on, you're mum'll come looking for us any minute, I don't think it would be good if she were to open the door on us.' She told him, and he groaned again, wrapping his arms around her waist.

'Oh would that be so bad? Really?' He asked, his voice bordering on whining, and she laughed. This had come up more than once since her birthday, and each time his voice became considerably whinier, which she found cute, but she'd also decided to put him out of his misery and as an extra present she was going to tell their friends and family tonight. 'What are you smiling about, Hales?' His voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she shook her head softly.

'Nothing, just you, me, the tree house and Les Mis later. As much fun as it is to watch you have to be the centre of attention, like it is each year, I'm looking forward to continuing our tradition. Who knows, maybe this year'll be the one when we actually finish it in one go.' He laughed and gave her one more quick kiss and a hug before pulling her out of the room.

Two hours later Karen gathered everyone around the living room for a toast before she brought the cake out.

'So, I just wanted to say a few words, but I promise to keep it short. As cliché as it sounds, it really does seem like it was yesterday that my world was turned upside down when I found out I was pregnant. Not much older than Lucas and scared out of my mind, but the day he was born and I held him for the first time, and he eventually opened those blue eyes I was hooked. I made a vow to look after him, never let him down and help him become a great man. I've had a lot of help over the last eighteen years, and some has come from Lucas himself. It's been an honour raising you the last eighteen years, and I can't wait to see where you go from here. Oh, now I'm crying,' she laughed at herself, and then pulled Lucas into a hug. He kissed her forehead, and whispered a thankyou in her ear.

'Alright, now that his mum has got us all crying, and Lucas blushing, I'd just like to throw my two cents in for a moment.' Haley said, earning a laugh from the room, and a cautious look from Lucas. 'So, I met Lucas more than fourteen years ago when he hit me on the head with his plastic basketball.'

'Hey, that was an accident and you know it.' Lucas interrupted, and Haley laughed.

'Of course it was. I like to think that even at four he was just looking for a reason to talk to me, so I, at two, took pity on him and decided to be his friend. What followed was fourteen years of playing, laughing, arguing, fighting and, as of my party a few weeks ago,' she heard Lucas' sharp intake of breath and smiled. 'And, as of my party more laughing and arguing, with a little bit of kissing thrown in. I love you Lucas, happy birthday'. She finished, and laughed as nearly everyone gasped. She wasn't sure if it was her saying they'd been kissing or following it with I love you that earned the gasps, but either way everyone knew now.

'I love you too Hales, and by the way, nice.' He told her, hugging her as everyone continued to stare at them.

'Well, you kept saying you wanted to tell everyone, and you never specified how so I took the liberty of doing it myself.' Everyone laughed again, and as the shock started to wear off the chatter returned to normal.

'I told you they'd realise they were in love with each other by his eighteenth birthday,' Keith said to Jimmy, before sticking his hand out. 'You owe me twenty bucks,' Lucas looked over Haley's head at their dads and rolled his eyes, before turning towards the hand that was on his shoulder.

'Hi mum, thanks for everything.' She nodded then looked back and forth between him and Haley, one eyebrow slightly raised in a silent question. 'I was going to tell you, honestly, but Hales kept saying she wanted to keep it a secret for a while, I had _no_ idea she was going to tell everyone like that.'

'Uh huh,' is all she says as she looks over at Lydia who simply rolls her eyes and smiles. Karen turns back to their kids and smiles too. 'Well, I think Lydia and I both have one thing, well two things, really, to say. First, _finally_ and second no sex in either of our houses.' Both teens cringed as soon as the words left her mouth, and Haley buried her face into Lucas' chest to try and hide from the words.

'Mum! Oh my god! Trust me, that's _so_ not gonna happen, it wasn't going to happen even before you said that!' Lucas buried his head in Haley's hair and groaned. 'Please tell me that did _not_ just happen.' He whispered into her ear.

'Oh you don't know how much I wish. Ok, how about we skip the cake and go get settled in the tree house now? I think Les Mis is calling our names, and if we want to get through it we should get started as early as possible, don't you think?'

'Hmm, that sounds like an excellent plan, especially since I'm pretty sure mum had the icing on the cake done as a picture of me as a baby. Oh god, get me out of here now!' She laughed and grabbed his hand, dragging him quickly through the to the kitchen and out the back door, while their mums watched them with smiles.

_Take me back to the creek beds we turned up_

_2 AM ridin' in your truck and all I need_

_Is you next to me_

'Lucas, why are we at the creek?' Haley asked when he pulled over and turned the car off. He'd sent her a message at 10 telling her to meet him outside and then, when she'd gotten in the car, he'd simply started to drive, only smiling when she asked what they were doing.

'Do you remember the first time we were here?' He asked, and she looked around. They were at a curve in the road, and it looked like any other curve until it hit her.

'This is where your mum and dad brought us when we were, what? Five and Seven, and Keith let each of us have a turn holding the wheel to let us feel like we were driving. The day you got your licence you drove me out here.'

'Yeah, and that was the first time you ever told me you loved me.' He teased, and she glared.

'You know that was so embarrassing for me! I didn't mean to say it, it just slipped out and you teased me for so long, and kept telling you I meant it in a you're my best friend way and... you're mean, you know that?' She said when she noticed he was laughing at her.

'Mm, but you love me like that. Come on, I always wanted to explore the creek beds.' He said, holding his hand out to her, and she looked at him sceptically.

'At 11 at night, when I could be at home, in my nice warm room?' She asked, and he nodded, before taking her hand and pulling her after him.

Hours later they were back in his truck, sitting in a comfortable silence, as Lucas drove them around, no particular destination in mind. He reached over and took her hand in his and looked over briefly to smile. She returned the smile, and when he focused back on the road, she looked out the window, thinking how she'd like nothing more but to do this with him forever.

_Take me back to the time we had our very first fight_

_The slammin' of doors 'stead of kissin' good night_

_You stayed outside till the mornin' light_

_Oh my my my my_

'What is your problem Lucas? We were just talking, we're _friends_ but you wouldn't know that cause you're never here!' Haley screamed, slamming the door to his truck before racing up the stairs to her porch.

'Haley! God, don't do this. I said I was sorry for being rude, but you're bringing college into this? You know I would've stayed at home and gone to college here, but you told me to go UNC, you said it was the right thing to do, so don't throw that back at me.' He yelled after her, causing her to pause at the door and turn slowly back to face him.

'So this is all my fault then? The fact that we only see each other weekends, if you're not too busy. It's my fault that you don't know who my friends are? That's just great Lucas, just great. Why don't you just go on back to your college and go to one of the parties I'm sure someone is throwing, because I'm going to bed.' She stormed through the door, the sound of it slamming no doubt resonating through the entire house. He swore, turned back to his truck, then stopped, swore again, and instead headed for the porch, where made himself comfortable, or as comfortable as possible, on the small swinging couch that still hung in the corner.

When Lydia stepped out the door the next morning to get the paper, she spotted Lucas lying in a very awkward way on the couch, and smiled to herself. Entering the house, she spotted Haley coming down the stairs.

'Haley, can you run out and get the paper, I have to go get your dad up.' She asked, and smiled as she watched Haley go out the door. Haley shut the door behind her, and when she turned to go down the steps, caught sight of the person at the end of the porch, sleeping on the couch. She quickly identified the person as Lucas, and smiled softly as she walked over to him. She crouched down in front of him and gently laid her hand on his cheek.

'Lucas,' she whispered softly, and watched his eyes flutter open, and confusion cross his face for a moment before the previous night seemed to come back to him and he sat up quickly, taking her hand in both of his.

'Haley, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean what I said last night; none of it's your fault. And I didn't mean to be so rude but I can't help but be jealous when a guy's talking to you, I mean any guy in his right mind would want to be with you and I guess cause I'm not here much I just worry you'll find someone...'

'Lucas, there will never be anyone better than you, you're it for me, you always have been.'

'You don't know how good it is to hear that.' He smiled down at her and kissed her quickly. 'And just for the record, you're it for me too. And I haven't been to a party in ages, cause apparently I'm a killjoy since all I do is sit in the corner and think about you.'

'Really?'

'Mmhmm, parties just aren't as much fun when your girlfriend is more than 80 miles away.'

'Hmm, you are so sweet, anyone ever tell you that? And kinda perfect.' He smiled as she kissed him, and leant her head against his chest.

'Kinda?' He asked, and she looked up at him and nodded, trying to look serious.

'Mmhmm, kinda. You know what would make you completely perfect?' He shook his head, laughing as he waited for her answer. 'If you take me up to the tree house so we can spend the rest of the weekend together. Two weeks is too long to go without seeing you and talking to you...'

'We talk at least once a day, Hales.' He reminded her softly as they made their way down the steps of her porch to go to his backyard and the tree house.

'It's not the same, you know that. And you didn't let me finish.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, please continue,' he said, his voice sounding apologetic, his eyes laughing at her.

'Well, where was I? Yes, two weeks is too long to go without seeing you and talking to you, holding your hand, kissing you...' This time she was cut off as his arm came around her waist, pulling her into him. 'Luke...' His lips found hers and whatever protest she was going to make was lost as she let herself sink into the kiss as they stood in his back yard.

_A few years had gone and come around_

_We were sittin' at our fav'rite spot in town_

_And you looked at me, got down on one knee_

Haley had just graduated from UNC and had, not an hour ago, secured a job at Tree Hill High, where Lucas had started coaching the previous year. It had been a long year for them, after finally being together at college for two years and Lucas staying close by the year following his graduation, as after his first book was published his sophomore year he could write anywhere, and he usually did his best writing near Haley.

It had come as no surprise to their friends and family that they had both chosen literature as the base for their careers, Lucas with writing and Haley as an English teacher, considering the time they'd spent as children and teenagers hiding in the tree house simply reading or discussing books.

Lucas, Keith and James had finished hauling Haley's surprisingly large amount of things from both her dorm and room at home into the apartment Lucas had bought when he'd moved back to tree hill, and now the two had slipped away to the river court. As was their long standing tradition, Haley took her spot on the seats and pulled a book out of her bag while Lucas started shooting. Twenty minutes later, Haley's book lay forgotten on her lap as she watched him move around the court, cheering out encouragement like his own personal cheerleader. He looked over when she whistled, and decided to throw all his plans for a fancy dinner later on out the window. He put the ball through the hoop one last time, letting it bounce to a stop, heading over to Haley.

'Don't you ever get tired watching me?' he asked with a smile, although she could hear the seriousness of the question.

'I could watch you forever,' she replied, and he could hear the seriousness in her voice as well. He also heard the sharp intake of breath as he got down on one knee, pulling the small black box from his pocket.

'Hales, we've been best friends since the day my ball hit you, and I've loved you almost as long, in so many different ways. I've been in love with you since I think about the time I was thirteen and girls were suddenly girls. I know I'm gonna love you forever, you're my dream. Will you marry me?' There were tears threatening to spill but she blinked them back as she looked down at the boy she'd loved since she could remember and knew there could only be one answer to this question.

'What took you so long?' she asked softly, and he laughed; there was nothing else to do, it was such a Haley response. 'Of course Lucas, of course,' she whispered, but he heard her, smiling as he stood up, slipping the ring on to her waiting finger before scooping her up and spinning her, taking in the sound of her laughter, knowing he'd be able to hear it for the rest of his life.

_Take me back to the time when we walked down the aisle_

_Our whole town came and our mammas cried_

_You said 'I do' and I did too_

Lucas stood at the altar, looking out over the church, and what appeared to be the entire town of Tree Hill cramped into the small church he and Haley had picked for their wedding. He caught his mum's eye, then Keith's, and as he looked to the other side he caught Lydia's and she smiled. Then the doors opened, and his eyes automatically went to them, searching for Haley, although he knew her bridesmaids would be first.

Her sister Taylor came down the aisle first, followed by Brooke Davis, who Haley had surprisingly become good friends with through Peyton Sawyer, her maid of honour who followed Brooke. Haley had met Peyton during her junior year when she had tutored her after Peyton missed some school due to being very sick and needed help catching up. They had gotten close and Haley discovered she liked having a friend who was a girl that she could go to. It was in their senior year, when Peyton had all but begged Haley to join the cheer squad to help Brooke, and therefore Peyton by making Brooke happy, that Haley had gotten to know Brooke. They had all ended up at college together and now Haley named the two as her best friends, after Lucas of course.

Finally, Taylor, Brooke and Peyton had taken their places, facing Lucas and his groomsmen, Skills, Mouth and his best man, his half brother Nathan, another surprise considering the short time Lucas had played for the Tree Hill Ravens they had appeared to hate each other, but when they ended up at college together, and in a strange turn of events had discovered they were roommates for their freshman year, they had decided to ignore the fact that they both named Dan Scott as their father and eventually became friends.

All thoughts left Lucas' mind when the song changed and he saw Haley, on the arm of Jimmy. He watched as she made her way down the aisle, her eyes never leaving his, and despite being a writer knew in that instant he would never be able to find the words to describe how beautiful she was, or the emotions he felt seeing her walk towards him in her white gown, looking like a princess. He didn't even notice he had stopped breathing until Nathan whispered in his ear 'if you want to make it to the I dos, I suggest you keep breathing'.

After what seemed like forever she arrived at the altar, and Lucas stepped forward and took her hand from Jimmy, who nodded at him and smiled. They stepped up together and turned to the priest, smiling.

'We are gathered here today to witness the joining of Lucas Scott and Haley James...'

_Take me home where we met so many years before_

_We'll rock our babies on that very front porch_

_After all this time, you and I_

_Oh my my my my_

On their first wedding anniversary, at the party Brooke insisted on throwing them, they announced to their friends and family that Haley was pregnant with their first child, and for more than ten minutes they were each hugged at least once by every person present.

Once everyone had quieted down, Karen walked to the front of the room, and called for everyone's attention.

'I spoke a year ago at Lucas and Haley's wedding about their love, and everything I said that day holds true. Some people might say that they were and still are too young, to be married, to be having a child but I say those people don't know Lucas and Haley. I've watched them both grow and change, but the one thing that has never changed from the day they met all those years ago is the love they have for each other. It has been ever present and together they have overcome many obstacles. To me, these two having a baby makes perfect sense, although I have one slight concern, and that is that you two still live in that apartment which as lovely as it is doesn't seem like a place to start a family. Thankfully, Keith and I have a solution to that. We've decided to travel the world, leaving in two months, to be gone indefinitely at this point in time but we can't bear to part with the house, which is why we're giving it to you for your anniversary, to raise your children in.' She laughed at the shocked looks on their faces, then steadied herself as Lucas pulled her into a tight hug.

'Are you sure?' She heard him whisper into her ear and laughed again, pulling back slightly so she could look at him.

'I'm sure. There's no one else I'd rather have it, or the cafe, then you and Haley.' His eyebrows rose. 'I can't bear to sell the cafe yet, and I think I'll leave easier knowing it belongs to you. Sheila can run it, she's good at what she does, and you might need to hire another waitress or two, but other than that all she needs is someone looking out for her. What do you say?'

'I say of course. And at least this way I know you'll have to come back every now and then, to check up on her.'

'That won't be the only thing that brings me back. Keith and I'll be wanting to see our grandchildren, and spoil them whenever we can. I know I said indefinitely, but I think we both know that we'll be back eventually, and when that time comes we'll find a nice, small place to grow old in. The house is yours now, yours and Haley's. I always knew it would be. You'll be able to raise your kids there, rock your babies to sleep on the porch while you watch the world go by.'

'Thank you.'

_And, I'll be eighty-seven, you'll be eighty-nine_

_I'll still look at you like the stars that shine_

_In the sky_

_Oh my my my"_

'Grandma, can we go up the tree house, can we? Can we please?' Haley James Scott looked up from her book to see her seven year old great-granddaughter in front of her, and a few of her siblings and cousins behind her on the grass, all looking expectantly at her.

'Of course, just be careful and watch out for your little brother.' She watched them all race away to start the climb, and smiled when she felt someone sit down next to her.

'What are you smiling about Ms Haley James Scott?' Lucas' voice asked, and she leant into him.

'Just how lucky we are, and how I love you as much today, Lucas Eugene Scott, as I did when I was their age.' She looked up at him and he placed a kiss on her forehead, holding her close.

'We did good, huh? With Bella, James and William? And now they're doing real good with their kids.'

'Mmm, we did do well, and it's so good to see all of them running around following their children now.'

'It's perfect.'


End file.
